Top drive systems are used to rotate a drill string made up of tubulars within a wellbore. In many drilling operations, drilling operators need to lower equipment or measurement devices into the well for purposes of well intervention, reservoir evaluation and pipe recovery. In order to accomplish this, operators drop a series of electrical conduits, typically referred to as wirelines, through the top drive system and into the wellbore. The wireline provides power to equipment located at the end of the conduit and provides a pathway for electrical communication between the surface and the equipment at the end of the conduit adjacent the bottom of the wellbore.
Typically, a top entry wireline apparatus is attached to the top drive system to facilitate the entry of the wireline into the wellbore. However, stringing in the wireline from above the top drive can be dangerous if the system used is inadequate to support the weight of the wireline or if it is unable to adapt to the turns and twists of the drilling tubes as drilling operations continue.
Top entry wireline apparatuses generally consist of sheave and pulley systems. These systems are large and bulky, however, and if a component of the system breaks, the entire apparatus typically must be taken apart and repaired. Thus, the present disclosure seeks to eliminate these disadvantages by providing a unique structural arrangement for the apparatus that is compact, can be universally adapted to a variety of top drive systems, and can be repaired without disassembly of the top drive.